Small Things
by Ano-chan
Summary: Shino prides himself on understanding all the little things in life, but why is it so hard to understand what that girl makes him feel?


So I just really found out about this couple, and decided to write a fic about them. So...here you go.

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><p>Small things...he prided himself on noticing them.<p>

The way the air smelled before the rain.

The unique movements of enemy shinobi.

The way people would always to try to shy away when he stood near them.

The way her smile managed to light up a room.

He stopped himself when that thought ran through his head. For some reason she had been stuck in his head this past week, and no matter how hard he tried, she wouldn't leave. He still didn't understand why she was there in the first place.

She was a powerful ninja, but that was not what had caught his attention, it had been something much simpler, much smaller...

She noticed him.

To others it may not seem like much, but to him, someone who was constantly forgotten, left in the darkness, it was something very...different.

She would greet him as he passed on the streets, if they were grouped on missions she would always ask for his take on the situation. Even outside of missions, she could hold an easy conversation with him. These conversations weren't anything big though, they were simply about the weather, or how the members of their respective teams were doing. Not much, but to him, it was something.

Still, even with that, he saw her as nothing more than an oddity, a small blip in the data of his life. Then, one morning while walking through the village, he happened to notice her walking towards him. On a whim, he had wished her a good morning.

She smiled at him, and in that moment, everything changed.

She became beautiful, all of those little talks and greetings became something wonderful that he would always look forward to. Somehow, all of those small things had come together to create something so large and magnificent that he couldn't hope to understand it.

It was trying to understand this thing that brought Shino to where he was, wandering Konoha late on a cold winter night. He'd been trying to keep his mind off of her by focusing on other things, but she always managed to creep back to the front of his thoughts. Sighing in frustration, he held out his right hand and began twirling his fingers. Slowly, a stream of insect formed above his hand, spinning in a tornado shape. Focusing on controlling his insects finally allowed his mind to relax. Perhaps now he could finally-

"Wow, I had no idea you had that much control over your insects," the voice shattered his concentration and, embarrassed, he ordered the insects back into his body. Turning, he sighed as he recognized the girl that had started all of this.

Tenten smiles, she really did look incredible when she smiled, as she walked up to him, her hands resting easily on her hips.

"So, what brings you out here alone at night," she asked, cocking her head curiously to the side.

"I like it during the night, why? Because it's quiet, calm, good for thinking," he replied, wondering to himself why she herself was out alone.

"True, I doubt you can get much quiet time with someone like Kiba as a teammate," Tenten mused with a grin on her face.

"Very true," muttered Shino, making Tenten chuckle a little. That was another thing he noticed about her, when she laughed, it never felt like it was at you. It actually managed to bring a small smile to his face, one he quickly hid behind the cowl of his jacket.

"So..." Tenten began before the conversation fell too far into awkward silence, "do you mind if I walk with you? To walk me home I mean, after all, it's more fun to walk with friends," she explained with another easy smile.

"Of course," he agreed, though inwardly he sighed, this was certainly what he wanted, but he still wasn't sure why, "lead the way." With a nod, Tenten started off down the street at a strangely slow pace as Shino followed alongside her.

As they walked Shino couldn't help wondering why she walked with him, he new he was not the most pleasurable company to be around, his teacher Kurenai always scolded him, saying that he needed to open up more to others, especially his teammates. As an answer he would always shrug and turn away. Something like that was easy to talk about, but to do it, to people who knew what you were, what your body was used for, was something else entirely. Finally, looking over to Tenten, her head tilted backward to take in the night sky, he decided that he had to know something.

"I'm surprised you would spend your time with me, why? Because people tend to avoid my company," answering his own question again, something he did to speed conversations along, to reach the answer faster.

"Well you're not the most easy guy to hang out with, asking questions like that out of the blue," she countered, turning her head to face him, an eyebrow raised in confusion, "though...I guess I would have to say it helps that you...listen..."

"Listen?" Shino asked, now confused himself.

"You always try to listen to everything, it's a good break from Neji and Lee. They're both so focused on training, I'm surprised they ever find a time to sleep. You...you tend to take things slowly, planning out your moves so all that energy is unneeded. It's...calming. Although..." Shino tensed, worried for what sort of comment might follow, "it's is a little annoying that you never take off those glasses, what are you hiding under there anyway?" That was a question he'd heard whispered over and over again, but one nobody had ever asked him face to face.

"Do you really want to know? The answer is rather boring honestly," he admitted, shrugging slightly.

"What? Why Is that?" asked Tenten, slightly crestfallen.

"What is incredibly important for Shinobi? To be mysterious, to make sure our opponents know nothing about us. My clan takes this trait to it's full potential, we wear heavy cloaks to help disguise our bodies and abilities, then we cover the parts that can give the away the most emotion, our mouths and eyes. However, while this does help us with our enemies, it helps to further alienate us from our comrades..." he fell silent, waiting for Tenten's reply.

"So, in layman's terms, the reason your clan dresses so mysteriously, is to look mysterious?" She laughed again, a small laugh, and Shino admitted to himself that, when put in those terms, it did sound rather silly.

"Still, knowing something like that, it makes you seem a bit more...normal...I'm sorry, did that sound wrong?" Tenten apologized, shaking her head slightly.

"No, it's fine. Just don't go spreading that explanation around. I'd rather not be known as the ninja that revealed my clan's secret," replied Shino, a small smile forming on his face again. It was nice to be referred to as 'normal' for once.

"Hey, don't worry, you can trust me with anything. I mean, come on, we're friends after all," and as she stood there, happily proclaiming their friendship, Shino realized something.

He loved her.

At least, he thought he did, he had never been in love before, it was too big a thing for him to easily understand. He'd had daydreams of what love could feel like, but this...this was far beyond anything he had imagined.

"Oh, looks like we're here," Tenten's words brought him back to reality and he quickly recognized the entrance to her home.

"So, thanks for walking me here, I think that was the most I've ever heard you say in one sitting."

"It's the most anyone's ever tried to talk to me in one sitting," he turned as he was talking, and managed to catch himself in her eyes. Staring at him, with those powerful brown eyes, she seemed to be waiting, expecting something.

But...no, he recognized this dream, recognized the feelings he was pretending were there. In this dream he would confess his feelings to the beautiful woman, and she would smile, remain silent, then lean forward and make everything perfect with a kiss...

And then he would wake up.

No, he couldn't jump to love right now, he needed things, smaller, simpler things, to help confirm these feeling, to help him figure out what to do next. He broke eye contact.

"Good night Tenten, I hope to see you soon," he nodded and turned to leave, already beginning to analyze the conversation, looking through it for the small things to try and help him understand just what it was he really felt.

And as he walked away into the night, he left Tenten standing alone in front of her home, and she wondered if Shino really noticed anything after all.

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><p>So there it is, my first shipping fic in a while, please leave a review, I would love any info on how I could improve my writing, because I know I need it. Thanks again for reading.<p> 


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